Incidental cholecystectomy does not increase the risk of surgery for gastrointestinal malignancy

From 1975 to 1994, 291 incidental cholecystectomies were performed in our department, 143 of them during surgery for gastrointestinal tumors. The number of incidental cholecystectomies has increased gradually each year, mainly after preoperative sonographic screening of the gallbladder became routine in our department. We have found that mortality, morbidity and duration of surgery were not significantly influenced by the addition of incidental cholecystectomy. The risk of the gallbladder becoming symptomatic during the expected survival of the patients who were operated upon for gastrointestinal tumors is higher than the added risk, morbidity or mortality as well as additional cost of incidental cholecystectomy. Therefore, the authors recommend the performance of incidental cholecystectomy during elective laparotomies for gastrointestinal tumors.